Scorpion King a ‘B’ movie

The new generation of the B movie is back, with a vengeance. “The Scorpion King” is full of action packed one liners and scantily clothed women. You will find the typical villain, the sexy sorceresse, and the goofy sidekick, and a pointless plot. What more can a B movie fan ask for? The answer is an eyebrow raising, fight starting, trash talking muscular hunk called Dwayne Johnson or by his WWF wrestling name, “The Rock.” He plays Mathayus, a lonely Akkadian who is hired to kill the evil villain.

“Scorpion” is the pre-qual to the “Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns.” Both films are about what happens when a curse is lifted by tomb raiders who open the tomb of an ancient Egyptian king disturbing his slumber and letting loose horrible waves of death and destruction. Both received huge box office returns and wide recognition for their special effects.

The highlight of the film was not only the glistening body of “The Rock” but also the strength in his co-star Michael Clark Duncan who plays Balthazar, the king of a hidden city who helps Mathayus defeat the evil oppressor. Duncan’s power and size are demonstrated in one of the most amazing fight scenes since David and Goliath.

This film was suppose to show how the evil king got to that stage, well that is at least what trilogy followers were expecting. Instead they received a magical tale of the seductive sorceresse Cassandra (Kelly Hu) who is held against her will by the evil ruler. Who uses her power to foresee his battles, she is rescued by Mathayus and falls in love with him. Cheese at its best I must say.

What else would you expect from director Chuck Russell, who in 1988 recreated the B classic “The Blob” to make it even worse than the classic1958 version. With WWF millionaire Vince McMahon as executive producer, this film is full of lines like “the city is sealed up tighter than a crabs buttocks” and “the first man to touch her will have to go through me.” It is more than obvious that this film will reach a cult following in a couple of years due just to the sheer entertainment value, along with the half naked “Rock” rolling around in the sand with the barely dressed Hu.